The SL sits at the top of what is for now a very compact Vauxhall Viva range. The base model, badged SE, can be yours for £7,995, but the SL is priced at £9,495, for which you get things like alloy wheels, electronic climate control, a leather-covered steering wheel and a better radio with six rather than four speakers.
Apart from this, the SL is the same as all other Vivas. It's much more impressive and grown-up than the Agila it replaced earlier in 2015 and is a competent new player in the city car class. It lacks the visual distinctiveness of, for example, the Toyota Aygo, and instead has the more subdued look of the Hyundai i10, which from some angles it resembles quite closely.
All versions use the same 74bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, a non-turbocharged version of the unit also found in the Corsa and ADAM. Probably because of the lack of a turbo, and certainly because this is the smallest car to use the engine, it's louder here than in other applications. However, sound levels are generally low, and at higher speeds it's mostly drowned out by road and wind noise.
74bhp isn't a great deal in absolute terms, but it's competitive for its sector. The Viva struggles to keep up with other cars only if you're trying to accelerate hard, the 0-62mph time being 13.1 seconds.
I found that the Viva tackled the twists and turns of a moorland road quite brilliantly, while also maintaining the ride quality you would expect of a larger and more expensive car.
Officially, most Vivas including this one (but not the more economical ecoFLEX SE) average 62.8mpg. I couldn't equal that, but in nearly 1,300 miles over the course of a week, including several hours on windswept motorways, I got slightly better than 52mpg. That figure would be difficult beat in any of the Viva's rivals.
The interior is handsome enough, in an undramatic way, and there's plenty of room up front. Rear accommodation is tighter, and the luggage capacity with the back seats up is 206 litres. That’s bigger than some rivals, but not that impressive in a class where several cars offer just over 250.
Folding down the rear seats increases load capacity to 1,013 litres, but that's possible only if you remove the headrests or slide the fronts so far forward that a taller person would find it impossible to drive the car.
If interior toys appeal to city car customers, as several manufacturers believe they do, the Viva is going to be disappointing. The IntelliLink system used in other Vauxhalls isn't fitted here, though it should be added in 2016, which will help a lot.
For now, there isn't even a USB port. So if you want to charge your phone during a journey you'll have to buy an adapter to stick into the 12v socket mounted in a slightly awkward position at the front of a storage compartment in the centre console.
Overall, the Viva is a worthy addition to a very competitive category. It doesn’t stand out in any particular areas but is competent in all. Its greatest appeal in this country may be its British badge, which could prove to be reassuring for people who either don't know or don't care that it's actually built in South Korea.